In the medical field, there are known pathologies linked to dysfunctions of the humoral secretions like saliva, tears, vaginal and gastroenteric fluids.
In particular, the saliva is a liquid physiologically produced by the salivary glands of the mouth and has a percentage composition, based on its total weight, of 98% water and for the remaining 2% of electrolytes, enzymes and immunoglobulins.
More in details, the regular secretion of saliva is capable of maintaining the homeostasis of the mouth and, thanks to is peculiar multi-factorial composition, has a lubricant and mechanically cleaning activity, contrasting the bacterial and fungal proliferations, protects the mucosae from the high temperatures of foods and has a buffer activity towards caries, thereby contributing to the mineralization of the early caries lesions.
Today, the reduction in the salivary flux is a known pathology, defined as “xerostomia” meaning literally “dry mouth”, whose symptoms depends upon its triggering factors.
Xerostomia is linked to physiological factors such as age (particularly in elderly and post-menopause women), or exogenous factors like pharmaceutical treatments (for example, anti-colynergic, anti-psicotic, anti-staminic or beta-blockers drugs), oncological treatments like radiotherapy and chemiotherapy, or systemic autoimmune pathologies (like, for instance, Sjögren syndrome).
Said pathology has several symptoms comprising mouth dryness, thirst, burning, lesions of the oral cavity, swallowing difficulties, hafonia, halitosis and taste alteration.
Moreover, the drastic decrease in the salivar secretion causes a reduction in the defenses of the oral cavity, leading to the development of a pathogenic bacterial flora, which is responsible for the onset of dental lesions, gingivitis, stomatitis, parodontitis, periodontitis, aftae, caries, gingival bleeding, candidosis, mucositis.
It is easy to understand, therefore, that the persistence of such conditions linked to dehydration and lack of protection of the oral cavity, together with the continue accumulation of pathogens, lead to complex clinical frames which may undermine the quality of life of the patients suffering from xerostomia.
Today, the therapeutic options for said pathology are few and with a low efficacy along the time; for example, it is known the use of muscarinic active principles capable of stimulating the salivary secretion from exocrin glands.
It is known the use of drugs having anti-pain activity with the purpose of limiting the effects of dehydration and of the mouth lesions, or of drugs having healing activity aimed at contrasting the proliferation of bacterial and fungal infections of the oral cavity.
However, also said drugs have a temporary effects, reducing the local symptomatology, without intervening on the increase of salivary glands, upstream.
Beyond the secreting dysfunctions of the oral cavity, also the secreting dysfunctions of the vaginal fluids causes important inconveniences to women suffering from them.
Also in this case, the causes triggering said pathologies are multiple and can be referred among those above disclosed as physiological factors linked to age, exogenous factors like pharmaceutical therapies, chemiotherapy and radiotherapy or systemic autoimmune pathologies.
People suffering from said problems experience burning, itch and in some more serious case also bleeding.
The above mentioned factors are also the causes of secretorial tear dysfunctions, which is the cause of ocular dryness and of several serious inconvenience to those suffering from that.
In fact, people who suffer from this disorder are often plagued by burning, itching, difficulty when opening the eyelids on awakening, photophobia and visual fogging; it is easy to understand, therefore, how said inconveniences may affect the quality of life of a person and, if left untreated, can cause permanent damages to eyes.